Living sacrifice

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." 

                                                                                                      Romans 12:1     NKJV

A person who offers a living sacrifice, is someone who is genuinely grateful for what they have received or receive, from God. It is the goal of presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice, i.e. offering our spiritual service.

Dedicated people of God do not have to wear a badge or carry a large bible around with them all the time, to demonstrate that they belong to Jesus. They demonstrate their dedication by going places and doing things for Him. The Old Testament Jews used animal sacrifices, we sacrifice ourselves to God and His service. Reasonable service here in verse 1, suggests that a rational response to God's mercies is to commit ourselves in an act of worship.

In the Amplified Study Bible notes on this verse, it states:

'Paul is calling believers to consider their whole life as a sacrifice, dedicated to God and His purposes - a "Living" sacrifice, both holy and single-minded.'

We are to live a life that honours the Lord Jesus in every way. Charles F Stanley comments:

'Paul encourages us to turn ourselves over to Him each day, lay our wills on the altar before Him and ask Him to use us for His glory and the good of His people.'

                                                                               Charles F Stanley

                                                                               Notes on life Principle Bible Romans 12:1

God helps us to live for Jesus as we move towards Him, 'Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.' James 4:8. It is in these special times, in the presence of Jesus, that we learn how to be a 'Living Sacrifice.'

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Dealing with the unexpected

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting."                              Acts 2:2        NKJV

Things can change suddenly and oftentimes, without any warning. This is what happened to the apostles and the others as they gathered together in the upper room that day at Pentecost. Suddenly the whole place shook and the power of the Holy Spirit came and filled them all with the energy and fire of God. It was something that changed their lives and the lives of every believer from that day and forever more. Suddenly, the unexpected happened. Notice one thing though, they were prepared and in position. They knew something would happen but they were not expecting it in such amazing form.

I want us to look at the concept of being prepared, ready and in position. Daily things can come along in our lives that we're are not expecting. Unexpected things happen and if we are not careful, they can knock us off balance. To give an example, I write for a monthly magazine and I am always diligent and aware of the copy deadline, so that I send it off to the editor on time for checking prior to typesetting. I say that I am always diligent in being ready for the copy date, well, this month, I wasn't. A number of things happened to me, all at once and I was so overwhelmed by them all that I actually forgot about the copy date, in fact, I hadn't even written anything. I received an email from the editor asking me where the copy was. It was due 1 March and it was now 4th. It would have been so easy to panic but I didn't. I felt at peace as I emailed the editor back to tell  him that I would write and send it to him at once. He emailed back, and despite it being 4 days late, he told me to get it to him over the next few days, not to worry. I knew that God had blessed me through this - magazines are notoriously busy near deadline.

All of this made me consider the importance of being prepared, ready and in position. Even though I hadn't a clue what I was going to write about, suddenly it didn't matter, God was in control, not me and as I gave it to Him, He would guide me what to write. You see, God had trained me years ago about deadlines when I worked on a newspaper. He had sewn in me the ability to be prepared for the unexpected and being ready to change something at a moments notice. And because of this, when I was faced with this potential to flap, I was ready and in position.

It is rather like the early believers that day in the upper room. They had been with Jesus. He had prepared them for the unexpected; trained them to be ready and encouraged them to ensure that they are in position for whatever was required. And within you, He has done something that you're probably not aware of; but when the unexpected suddenly arrives, you will naturally flow into it without any hassle.

Often, God has been working within you and you haven't really noticed. It may have felt like nothing is really happening and you have been left by the roadside. That is so wrong, Jesus does not leave us on our own. He's only a heartbeat away, watching, waiting and praying for us. 

Be encouraged, because God has done some special work within you and will continue to carry this out until you're standing with Him in Heaven. Philippians 1:6.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Are you willing to learn?

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." 

                                                                                                         Psalm 32:8     NKJV

God is committed to teaching us - if we will listen. The latter part of this verse in the Amplified, reads like this: 'I will counsel you (who are willing to learn), with My eye upon you. The Hebrew word for teach is yarah and it means, 'to shoot straight,' or 'direct the flow of something.'

God wants to direct the flow of our heart and therefore, He is willing to spend quality time with us to do so. The thing is are we willing to allow Him to do this?

We are told in Proverbs 3:5-6 to: 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths'. So this gives us further confirmation of how God wants to teach and direct us. Some people enjoy learning. They do courses on a regular basis and love the challenge of it. Others find it tedious and will do everything they can to wriggle out of a particular course. 

I love learning but I don't know about you, I find it very difficult to concentrate on certain things. I start off ok and then my brain says, 'I've had enough,' and I drift off into some kind of daydream or plan that I have for later on. I really have to discipline myself so that I can appreciate and understand what I am being taught. I feel that I'm not the only one who has a low-attention span such as this.

I find that taking notes helps me to focus but, I also have to be careful that I don't write too much down and miss what the preacher, teacher or lecturer is saying. Not everyone has the skill to use Pitman's Shorthand, I wish I did, so I write short bullet point notes down, being careful that it is not too difficult to understand later when I am at home.

From a biblical point of view, God wants us to learn, whether we're studying the bible or on a course at work or university. He promises us here that He will instruct us, teach us and guide us, if we are willing to learn. That is the condition - being willing to learn? We need to settle that in our minds first. If we can answer a 'yes' to this then He will start to direct the flow of our learning. God is not looking for us all to be academical clones of Einstein, not at all. He is interested in us learning, knowing and living out His Word on a daily basis. When we can do this, we are equipped to use scripture against the devil's attacks such as Jesus did in the wilderness. He told Satan, 'It is written'. Be honest, we can't say, 'it is written' unless we know where it is written. We need to be familiar with scripture so that we can stand on God's promises and use His Word as a sword when we need to.

But more than this, studying and reading our bibles is the most popular way that God speaks to us. Yes, we can and do hear His voice on the inside of us, but He will more than anything, speak to us through the bible. When we have a problem, we need to find a relevant verse to pray and agree with. The thing is, if we can’t identify scripture verses, it is difficult to put this into action. All the more, why we need to be willing to learn and allow Our Father to direct the flow of His Word into our hearts.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Do you believe the impossible?

 "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"                                  Matthew 9:27-31    NKJV

Two blind men approached Jesus pleading with Him for their sight to be returned. Their urgency was so great, that they followed Jesus to His house and went inside, crying in a loud voice, 'Son of David have mercy on us,' which was a popular messianic term of the day. They were not just asking Jesus for this to happen, not at all. They were crying out; in fact, the Amplified version states that they were screaming loudly. Therefore, it was obvious that it meant everything to them to be able to see. 

When we require healing, we need to go to Jesus with a similar attitude. Oftentimes, our needs are great, especially if there is a terminal illness around or something which is life-changing. I think at times when we ask for prayer, it's possible that we don't really believe deep down in our heart that it's going to happen and therefore, it seldom does. These guys meant business and it would appear that they were not going to leave until, the business was compete.

Look at Jesus' response to their request, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this?' In other words, Jesus was asking, 'Do you believe the impossible?' And this is the bottom line. Do we believe, without doubt, the impossible - that Jesus can perform what you are asking Him to do. Do you believe that He can heal terminal cancer? Do you believe that He can heal MS or Diabetes, Heart conditions or even Bells Palsy. Do you 100% believe that He can do it?

This is most important, because the next thing Jesus said to them was, 'According to your faith let it be to you.' Notice two things here, firstly, Jesus said  may it be according to your faith - what you believe in your heart when you receive prayer for healing or some other thing. It is what you believe that you receive. The Message puts it this way, 'Become what you believe.' Secondly, If you believe that Jesus can perform what you're asking of Him, then receive it! You can't receive what you don't believe, all you do is exercise doubt and then, you go without.

When Jesus asked them, 'Do you believe?' He was asking if they have a deep abiding trust in Him, a confidence that cancels out any doubt that may try to enter into this transaction. 'Do you trust and have confidence in My power and My ability to heal.' I ask the question - do you? Do you have this assurance; this deep confidence that whatever you ask Jesus to do, He will do it. The scripture doesn't lie. We've just read the conditions that Jesus asks for, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this? The rest is up to us. He has given us His answer, the condition is to believe and receive.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Waiting, waiting and more waiting

"Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward." 

                                                                                                       1 Samuel 16:11-13   NKJV

David was only 15 when he was anointed king. He was anointed king over Judah (2 Samuel 2) and then over all of Israel seven years later, (2 Samuel 5). It is interesting to realise that Saul had been chosen by the people, David was divinely chosen by God. There is a difference. The people chose Saul, who turned into a terrible king and his reign ended in disaster. God's choice was the ideal king where his life reflected God. Yes, he made mistakes but he had the heart of God within him. It is always more important that leaders be anointed by God and not by people. God knows best and some mistakes have been made when people became involved.

David had to wait almost fifteen years before he became the king at age 30. That is a long wait. During this time, he was constantly abused and chased by Saul who was so jealous of him that he wanted to kill him. It must have been a very difficult time for David but, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him and kept him safe and in a right frame of mind.

Waiting is never easy. During David's period of waiting, he even went home to take care of his father's sheep - something he loved doing as it gave him the freedom to write his songs. Then Saul, who appeared to be in better mood, sent for him to be his armour bearer and musician for times when he felt distressed.

Probably you have been waiting for God to move in a particular area in your life. He may have given you part of His plan and now you want to get on with it. Take your time; God is never late, He's always on time and His timing is perfect. Knowing a little about what God wants of you is not enough. You need to know the nuts and bolts of things so that you don't dash in and get it all wrong. Initially, you only have a seed of what God is planting; it needs to grow. There are things God needs to put into place and this can take a little time. To dash in too early is a recipe for getting it all wrong. When He does tell you more, He will help you begin to move into this new project or ministry, and He will provide more and more information as you progress.

So take it easy. David waited 14/15 years. You may have to do some waiting too; but it will be worth it. Until it comes into fruition, get yourself ready. Allow the Holy Spirit to direct your thoughts and be open to His leading. It may be sooner than you think, so you need to prepare and get things into place.

Enjoy the excitement of it all. God is setting you up in something that only you are qualified to do.

What a privilege!

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Get ready for the battle

"Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. (13) And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts and the angels ministered to Him."                                                                        Mark 1:12-13     NKJV

Have you ever wondered why we go through times of extreme temptation and bad times? Being a Christian is not always easy. Many unbelievers probably think we spend our time sitting on grass singing songs and being extremely happy. How wrong they are. It can be hard work. Jesus had just had a major blessing from His Father. He had been baptised by John and then, the Holy Spirit had descended upon Him like a dove. The Father had then said, 'You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' Mark 1:11. Immediately after this, the Holy Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. It's easy to picture Jesus being driven out there in a Heavenly Range Rover. But, joking aside, this was not the case; the 'drove' means, 'Forced'. Jesus was in no way cast out, He went willingly at the Holy Spirit's direction. But He had to face the battles ahead. You can be sure that whenever you have a wonderful blessing, you are soon going to be entering a time of difficulty. Things can go like this in Kingdom business. 

In verse 13, we read that Jesus had to face being tempted by Satan and be with wild beasts. At this time, lions and other dangerous animals roamed the area; this may have been the meaning of this term. However, some interpreters see an allusion to the wild beasts being demons. Whatever it was, it was enough to ensure that Jesus had angels to minister to Him.

If Jesus had to face this, you can be sure that you will too. You will have blessings and attacks, but as long as you stay close to Jesus, you will be fine. Remember, you are the sheep and He, is your Shepherd. Jesus is a great example of how to handle temptation and demonic attack. He stood firm; He answered everything with the Word of God and He refused to become involved with anything that is not of God.

You may be going through a bad time at the moment. It is not always the devil who does this. God will test you in order to assess how determined and strong you are in certain areas. Let's face it, if you are going to fall flat on your face at the first hurdle, then you need some help. Jesus tests us to analyse how capable we are. It is Satan that sends the bad stuff and who tempts us in our weak spots.

We all need to be equipped enough to carry out the duties that our Commanding Officer - Jesus - is giving us. So, let us get in trim; do some working out in God's Word so that when the time comes, you will overcome.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Don't get led astray

"Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." 

                                                                                                   v15 of Mark 8:13-21    NKJV

Leaven, which is yeast, was used sparingly in the art of bread making. The Jews mostly ate flatbreads and would mop up their dishes with this, following a meal. If too much yeast was used, then the bread would puff up too high. Yeast was only used in very small measures. It was thought that yeast was a corrupting agent and most certainly not suitable for the Passover. Too much yeast would corrupt the dough in the same way, that being led astray by Pharisaical teaching could puff a person up. In addition, it was not recommended to operate with violence and brute force as Herod and his troops did.

The disciples missed it completely. They thought Jesus was complaining that because they had forgotten to get more bread, they would only have one loaf and that would be disastrous for them. One can almost hear the frustration in Jesus' reply which I have paraphrased: 'You worry about one loaf; what did I do last time? Can't I provide more bread for us? You're missing the point, something else is going on here.'

Jesus was warning them about the puffed up pride of the Pharisees; the way they feel that they are the bees-knees - the elite force in knowing God. It was a 'We are right,' mentality and much of the troubles in society today, is caused by religious argument and the twisting of what God said or didn't say. The Kingdom of God was not led by such religious thought; it was led by meekness, humility and love.

Jesus wanted the disciples to be aware of false teaching; of being led astray by self-seeking, puffed up religious thinking. And it is the same today for us. This is why Jesus told the seventy two, He was sending out, recorded in Luke 10, 'Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves' v3. In the wrong company, we can be ripped apart by false teachers and puffed up people. Be careful. If you meet someone who loves continually talking about themselves, treat them with caution. Love always puts others first. Read about it in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, and you will get a good idea of the type of people God wants us to associate with, and become.

It's easy to become puffed up, especially if someone is always patting you on the back or if you are seeking their praise because you have dome something wonderful in the church or community.It's very easy to promote yourself. If you find yourself doing this, and we all have at some time or another, stop it immediately and begin to praise Jesus instead.

Don't get led astray!

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE